Roughing It
by ibreak4CSI
Summary: [GC oneshot] Our two favorite CSIs go on a weekend getaway. Written for the Graveshift November Challenge.


**Summary: Our two favorite CSIs go on a weekend getaway.**

**Rating: T, to be safe**

**Disclaimer: I do not own CSI or any of the characters.**

**Roughing It**

"_This_ is your idea of roughing it?"

Gil Grissom paused as he stood in the doorway of the cabin, luggage in hand, letting his gaze take in the furnishings: two queen sized beds, a fireplace, and television.

"What'd you expect, Gil? A pup tent with a sleeping bag, surrounded by nothing but the stars?"

"Something like that."

Catherine rolled her eyes and grinned.

"Well forget it. I, for one, am not eager to form an intimate relationship with bugs. Not to mention, I'm not getting any younger, you know. I'll take comfort over the nature experience any day of the week." She flopped down on one bed while Gil shut the door behind him and watched.

"You're not old, Catherine."

"Right. I'm just mature." She mimicked a conversation they had had earlier in the week, while standing and making her way to the other bed.

"Exactly."

She laid down on the second bed and fell in love with it immediately.

"Ooh, I claim this bed!"

"You're claiming the bed?" He quirked an eyebrow at her, and turned to fiddle with his luggage, effectively hiding a grin.

"Of course. Remember what I said about comfort? A bed is a necessary part of that. You never know, I could be spending half of this vacation right here." She said, snuggling exaggeratedly into the numerous pillows adorning said mattress and shutting her eyes. "Aren't you going to try out yours?" She asked, allowing one eye to flutter open.

"Why would I do that? It seems I'm stuck with it no matter what I say."

"If you're trying to make me feel guilty, I may as well warn you, it's not going to work."

Gil smiled. That was his Catherine. Not that she was actually _his._ Not in the way he would like her to be. But that was an entirely different, not to mention inappropriate, subject, and he didn't dwell on it.

"If you don't mind me asking, what was wrong with this bed?" Gil asked as he set his bags with hers in between the two beds, and made himself comfortable on the one a few feet from Catherine's.

"Nothing. This one's just better."

"Okay."

They lay in silence for a few minutes, each lost in their own thoughts. Both were more than a little drowsy, considering the four hour drive and the fact that it was almost two in the afternoon. Gil was just beginning to feel the onset of sleep when she spoke.

"Gil."

"Hmm?"

"How do you feel about making a fire?"

"Isn't that generally a nighttime activity?" His eyes didn't quite make it open, and his words felt a bit slurred.

"Not when it's forty degrees outside."

He made a noncommittal sound.

"Gil?"

All that greeted her was the tiniest of snores, and Catherine smiled, opening her eyes to find her co-worker and friend sprawled out on the deep red duvet, sound asleep. That didn't sound like a half-bad idea. Catherine shut her eyes and relaxed.

Forty minutes later, she still wasn't asleep. She tried clearing her mind of everything and concentrating on taking deep, slow breaths, and when that didn't work, she even counted sheep. After another thirty minutes of all the techniques she could think of, something finally worked, and Catherine drifted off to sleep.

_--**dream**--_

_Gil stood in front of her, in the middle of the cabin. Some noise was in the background - must have been the television - but she didn't hear what it was. All she cared about was him. The look in his eyes._

_The look that said he would die if he didn't kiss her. _

_And she was pretty sure she would, too._

_Finally, after what seemed like years of waiting, he leaned forward. Slowly at first, but then he dove the rest of the way in record time, as if he were as impatient to taste her as she was him._

_His mouth pressed down hard on hers, and then let up as the kiss became more gentle and he toyed with her lips. He teased her a few more seconds before tilting his head and deepening the kiss again, this time thrusting his tongue inside her mouth, testing her, tasting her._

_She reached up, combing her fingers through the hair at the nape of his neck. The mutual need for air finally drove them apart, foreheads resting against each other as they gasped._

_"I love you so much, Catherine."_

_"I love you too, Gil."_

_They kissed again, and she moaned, loving the sensation of his mouth against hers..._

_--**end of dream**--_

Catherine awoke with a start. The first thing she noticed was that the room was significantly warmer than it had been. The second was that Gil was sitting up in his bed, reading, only a few feet from her.

Wonderful. That was just what she needed right now.

Since he hadn't noticed that she was awake yet, Catherine took this time to study him. He didn't appear to be uncomfortable at all, so that meant that she hadn't made any tell-tale noises during her dream. Thank God. How embarrassing to be caught dreaming like _that_ about a man who had been her friend for over twenty years. She blushed just thinking about it.

Thankfully, that hadn't happened, but unfortunately, the desire to act out all of the events of said dream, with him while she was awake? That hadn't quite gone away yet. It was still quite strong, in fact.

He finally withdrew from his oblivion and noticed her scrutiny, turning crystal blue eyes on her, making the planned greeting stick in her throat. Dear Lord, she wanted to kiss him. She wanted to do other things besides kiss him, but that was the need she really had at the moment. With that lower lip sticking out, tempting her...

Catherine cleared her throat and stood up, managing to throw a smile his way as she retrieved a toothbrush and toothpaste and walked into the bathroom, shutting the door behind her, the small room her temporary citadel.

She gave herself a mental talk in the mirror while brushing her teeth. There wasn't any reason to act strange. So she was enclosed in a twenty-by-ten room with the object of her thoughts/lust/love for three days. It was nothing she couldn't handle.

Having been done for several minutes before her talk was over, Catherine opened the door and stepped out, coming dangerously close to colliding with Gil who was, apparently, on his way to check on her.

Suddenly, the talk flew out the window. His eyes had the power to do that to her, damn them. Why did they have to be so amazing? She couldn't look away. And why wasn't he looking away? Did he...? Right. Only in her dreams. Literally. But then again, there was something familiar. Something she had always thought she'd imagined...

Quick as a flash, she did it. She lost control and kissed him.

His posture was stiff, surprised, for a split second, and just as Catherine was about to draw away, his arms wrapped around her and he kissed her back.

Nearly five minutes later, they broke apart and the only coherent thought she had was that if there were awards for kissing, Gil Grissom should win first place. He was amazing.

"Wow."

Catherine's now swollen lips turned upward in a smile at the word.

"I'll say." She agreed.

Neither moved an inch - moving or speaking might break the fragile grasp on this fairy tale both had wanted for so long.

As the minutes passed, the euphoria and oblivion began to fade. Just as the silence was beginning to be uncomfortable, Gil broke it.

"Cath..."

"Wait." She interrupted him. "Listen, Gil. There's something I've been meaning to tell you for a while now. I've tried before, but I never could do it." She blinked and moved her head back from his by a couple inches, so as to be able to see his eyes clearly when she made her damning admission.

"Just a warning, it may make you uncomfortable. And if you want to cut this vacation short because of it, then go ahead." Catherine knew she was rambling and beating around the bush. It annoyed her, for she was not the type for useless chatter. She always jumped in head first.

Taking a deep breath, Catherine decided to do just that.

"Gil-"

"I love you, Catherine."

"I l...wait, what?" Catherine felt the proverbial wind going out of her sails. She opened her mouth, but nothing came out.

Gently, he pulled her forward for another kiss.

"I said, I love you, Catherine."

"Why?" She didn't mean for the word to escape, but it did.

"Why?" He looked as if the question genuinely puzzled him. "Catherine, a more appropriate question would be why not? I love you for more reasons than I could ever remember at one time. I love you because of the way you take care of Lindsey. I love your passion and your tenacity."

Catherine let out a small laugh in the midst of the tears welling in her eyes. "Don't forget my tush."

"I could never forget that." He said with an answering smile. "I love you because you've been my friend for years, because of the way you make me feel when I'm around you. Because of the way you laugh, the way you smile. Because...because you're you, Catherine."

Catherine felt a few tears slide down her cheeks.

"I love you too, Gil."

--

Later that night, they sat in front of the fireplace, roasting marshmallows. Catherine's head lay on Gil's shoulder, and the quietly crackling sound of wood burning added an extra level of intimacy to the setting. There before the open flames, they were two of the most contented people in the world. Catherine moved to pull her stick out of the fire, and peeled the gooey mess off onto a graham cracker lined with chocolate.

"This was a terrific idea, Catherine." Gil said, pulling his own toasted marshmallow from the flames.

"I thought so." She paused for a few seconds, taking a bite of the delicious snack. "You know, I went camping several times, back in Montana. But this was the only part that I really loved."

"Well, knowing your affinity for chocolate, my dear, that's hardly surprising." He pressed a slightly sticky, but tasty kiss on her lips.

"Mmm."

Gil stared into the flames - they had a sort of hypnotizing effect if you looked at them long enough.

"Gil?"

"Hmm?"

"What are we going to do when we leave?"

He turned away from the fire, not all that surprised at the question. As his gaze met hers, it was honest and open.

"I don't know. What do you want to do?"

"It depends on what you want. I know where I'd like this to go..." She trailed off, not sure if he was ready for those kinds of thoughts yet.

"Where would you like it to go?" He prompted, needing to know that she wanted everything he did.

Catherine decided to be unmitigatedly honest. She didn't want to scare him, but her instincts told her he wanted the same things that she did. Not to mention, while keeping secrets now might not completely kill their burgeoning relationship, it would definitely hinder it.

"I love you, Gil. I want to do everything with you. I want to marry you, make love to you. If the time was right, maybe even have another daughter with you." He started to break in, but she hurried on. "Or son. I'm not biased...that much." He laughed and she smiled, adjusting her position so she was leaning against him again.

Gil took a deep breath, inhaling the scent of her shampoo.

"I could stay this way forever." She admitted, letting out a contented sigh. "I don't ever want to leave." He nodded slightly against her head, knowing exactly how she felt.

"It's hard to imagine, isn't it?"

"What?"

"Doing this," He gestured between them. "Out there. Not up here, where we're all alone."

"We'll make it." She said, her voice filled with love and reassurance.

"Yeah." He nodded, gazing down at their entwined fingers. "We will."

**end**


End file.
